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The Big Man (1990)
9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Liam Neeson is a raging bull., 31 October 1999
Author: James B. from madison, wi.
I liked this film a lot. It is about a working-class family in a town in Scotland, with the father (Liam Neeson) and mother (Whalley-Kilmer) at odds. At issue is Neeson's desire to earn for his family, in a more lucrative measure than he did during the dozen years he spent as a miner.
When Neeson receives an offer to get back into the ring for a bare-knuckles fight in Glasgow, he accepts - for the money, he says, though there are intimations that fighting is more than a job for him. The fight has been organized by two local shady characters, and the organized crime element looms large in the film. The resulting conflicts envelop Neeson, his family and friends, and his community.
There is a lot of talent at work in "The Big Man" (also called "Crossing the Line"), including excellent music by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Hugh Grant has a cameo doing a passable Scottish accent. Neeson is, of course, a world-class actor, and anything he is in is worthwhile seeing.
The production feels like a labor of love for all concerned, and the results show. The fight scene is not for the faint of heart.
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Rocky / Hard Times * Scotland = The Big Man, 15 February 2004
Author: Mick Dundee from Dudley, England
This started as an entertaining mix between Rocky and Hard Times (with a British twist) but as the film moves on a lot of hidden depth shows and the real quality of this film starts to shine through. The plot is about Danny Scholar (played superbly by Liam Neeson), an unemployed ex-miner who is struggling to put food on the table for his family. He is offered money by a local crime boss to compete in a bare knuckle fight yet the details of why he is fighting are left ambiguous. He accepts but is soon caught up in more than he expected when the real reasons behind the fight become apparent. This is all set in a small working class village in Scotland. Liam Neeson is joined by a superb cast including Billy Connolly, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and none other than Hugh Grant before he became a megastar. There's also lots of familiar faces from British TV. The settings are what I enjoyed most about this film, maybe because a large portion of the films I watch are set abroad and it was nice to see something closer to home. Especially in a film that was very down-to-earth and realistic. This is reflected in the actual fight, I'm not lying when I say it's got to be the most brutal, realistic and down right nasty fist fight I've seen on screen. Imagine Hard Times just with five times more blood and dirty tactics and that's basically what you've got. But where as Hard Times was more action orientated this leans more towards drama with the only action scene being the excellent fist fight in the middle. Oh did I forget the score for the film was also composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Everything just felt like some real time and effort was put in to make this and this is clearly apparent when watching it. Recommended!
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Neeson soars as The Big Man, 2 May 2008
Author: uk6strings-1 from The Twin Cities, Minnesota
Six years before Liam Neeson was "The Big Fella," he was "The Big Man." The Big Man is a very underrated and unnoticed film, but it's also a good one. Fans of Liam Neeson (like yours truly) simply need to see this film! Neeson gives a great performance here in his pre-Schindler's List era as Danny Scoular, a Scottish blue-collar man out on his luck who turns to illegal bare-knuckle boxing to make a buck. As if he didn't have enough troubles coming in, this gets him involved with the mob. A man of principle, Danny is also hurting and desperate, and Liam Neeson runs the show with a great intensity and towering presence.
The Big Man is well written enough not to ruin anything, but some unimaginative dialogue and illogical moves on apart of the characters are found here and there. There is one specific instance of "huh?" writing when crime lord Matt Mason gives a mini speech that makes no sense at all. Something about "God" .... and uh, "contracts" .... and "glory" and I have no idea what he is talking about! Also, the film has an ending that's a tad too melodramatic, but the rest of the story is real good, following Danny around through his hardships.
Neeson is also backed up well by the supporting cast. Comedian Billy Conolly turns in a good supporting performance as Danny's lying and selfish manager Frankie. Conolly is funny of course throughout much of the film, but he also does a good job with the more dramatic scenes. Joanne Whalley does a pretty good job here too as Beth Scoular, Danny's wife, and Hugh Grant even pops up here in the film and isn't too bad generally - although he has trouble holding his Scottish accent. The Big Man is also well filmed with good tracking shots and in your face boxing scenes that would make Rocky shiver. Rounding things off, Ennio Morricone's score for The Big Man isn't his best work but it is perfect for the film. With Liam Neeson carrying the torch, The Big Man is a good film and worth one's time.
Not perfection, but excellence on many levels, 20 July 2008
Author: RudolfhetRendier from Netherlands
The Big Man is not a true genre movie. It isn't a boxing movie, not a crime movie and not a family drama, but elements from all those genres meet somewhere in this film.
The setting is great. The director managed to choose a location that is barren, almost colourless and is obviously a skeleton of what it once was; a mining town. The coal mine has been shut down long ago and that is the beginning of the story. But I'm not going to give too much away of the hows and what's, for the film itself is good enough to tell it's own story without any problems.
The acting is good. I can't tell if the people could pass as those that they portray, but they make it believable for those who have never been in Scotland. It's very easy to admire Neeson; main reason is that there are many villages with someone like him, only here it goes a little to the extreme.
Even if there are fighters, gangsters and blood, this is still a drama. So it's rather slow. Don't watch this for the boxing or the gangsterism alone. All those elements make it a very rich movie, sometimes even towards the exotic. Downside to this is that it's not always easy to adapt 'all' facets of life. The movie focuses only once on a happening, and that is the fight it's all about. The rest is a little out of focus, but in the end it comes together to one important lesson.
As some people in other comments already noticed; music is by Ennio Morricone. It's strange at first to hear an Italian soundtrack (with this I mean music in the style for Italian thrillers) when viewing Scotland, but is sure works. The music during the fight is a great build-up piece that goes from suspenseful to epic.
I don't know what score to give this. I wanted to give it a 7, maybe because I didn't enjoy everything in it, but I'll give and 8 after all; I find this movie too sympathetic to give a 7 and there are many elements that I enjoy.
Saw it on a Dutch 6 euro DVD with excellent quality and lots of subtitles. Maybe best purchase this month.
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
In Agreement With Mr. Dundee's Review, 12 April 2006
Author: Herreken from United States
I think Mr. Dundee's review is spot on. The bare knuckle fight is extremely brutal. It's not one of these ultra-choreographed fights seen in the vast majority of movies that contain fighting. Part of this has to do with the superior makeup job and camera angles. Also, the man who plays Neeson's opponent is a real bare knuckle fighter. He was originally brought on as a consultant, and then it was decided that he should play the character.
However this is NOT an action movie. It is a drama, and a pretty good one. I can't think of anything else to add. Mr. Dundee summed up everything.
If anyone would like to know more detailed info about this fight scene, then I suggest you rent Ultimate Fights Volume 2.
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